Kirklees' Labour-led council is pumping hundreds of millions of pounds into investment and regeneration as the borough begins "a period of renewal".

That was the message from a bullish and confident Shabir Pandor as he outlined a one-year budget aimed at changing the "narrative of despair" in Kirklees.

The cash, which will be used to challenge "head-on" the effects of austerity, is earmarked for the vulnerable - including children at risk, the disabled and the elderly - as well as tackling domestic abuse and rejuvenating roads, towns and villages.

"We must now rebuild and rejuvenate our communities," said Clr Pandor as he revealed investment of around £210m for the area to a packed council chamber in Huddersfield Town Hall.

But the budget was greeted with fury by Conservatives who said it had been set "behind closed doors" by the majority Labour group, giving opposition members just a week to respond.

And senior Labour figures were slammed for being "cocky" and "imprudent", with veteran Tories warning the budget was "an aspiration" and "pie in the sky".

The council is still tasked with making savings, totalling almost £30m, up to 2019-20.

Frontline services have suffered as the authority has struggled to balance its books in the wake of government cuts.

And it may face a budget gap of anywhere from £6m to £46m by 2020, making a longer-term budget impossible to plan or predict.

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"We have witnessed a wasted decade," he said, claiming Kirklees was 10 years behind neighbour authorities in Leeds, Wakefield, Calderdale and Barnsley.

He said Labour had ambition "but they still are not demonstrating the ability to deliver."

And he accused Labour of abandoning financial prudence over the decision to drawn down more than £8m to meet future increased waste costs over the next two years rather than a measured draw down over a decade.

He said the "imprudent" use of cash reserves had been extended to public health spending with £834,000 being drawn down "to prop up spending".

And he warned that giving opposition parties just 13 days notice of the budget prevented the preparation of a full, justified and reasoned amendment.

"We need a proper budgetary process subject to scrutiny," he said.

"This last-minute effort, cutting out all opposition scrutiny of the budget, is not acceptable.

"It's the same old stuff, devoid of ideas or direction, as is the Cabinet. A spent force in its last throes."

Veteran Conservative Clr Ken Sims said Labour had effectively frozen out opposition parties by keeping its budget behind closed doors and after achieving a majority made the decision to cease co-operation.

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"We knew - and this is why we haven't put a budget in - we wouldn't get anything.

"There's no meat on the bones in this budget. It's pie in the sky because you're not spelling out what you're going to do.

"You were so cocky but you've got your budget. We'll see how it goes."

Clr Erin Hill countered: "You are members of this council and to admit that that you have so little idea about its running, resources, functions, funding and its powers is actually embarrassing.

Clr Erin Hill

Making his maiden speech Labour's Will Simpson, elected last year as the borough's youngest-ever councillor at the age of 22, described Kirklees as a council "with its priorities straight" delivering "a budget we can be proud of".

He said: "We need to stop talking ourselves down and start talking ourselves up, because there are a lot of things that this council is doing in very difficult circumstances which we can be proud of."

And he joined party colleagues in attacking Conservatives for providing no proposals.

He added: "It's clear to me that whether the Conservatives are in Westminster, Brussels or Kirklees they have no plan, no alternatives and no idea about the damage that their government is causing to the residents of our community."